History gives zest to 'Godfather' sequel

History gives zest to 'Godfather' sequel
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Michael Heaton

While we might argue whether the world needs sequels to classic best sellers, no one could ever say that novelist Mark Winegardner skimped on the entertainment in writing both "The Godfather Returns" and this month's "The Godfather's Revenge."

This final book of the trilogy features Michael Corleone, looking to take the family legitimate, just as a pair of Kennedylike brothers, both political powerhouses, collide with organized crime. Their vivid stories play off a nation in the throes of social change in the 1960s.

Winegardner, a former Clevelander, is busy on every page, propelling his plot with recent American history even as he grounds readers in the fictional past Mario Puzo created for his memorable characters. It's no small feat. Corleone consigliere Tom Hagen takes a larger role. Studio executive Jack Woltz, Mr. Horse Head in the Bed, is still around. And new guy on the block (or in the book) Nick Geraci, a Cleveland mobster wanted by both the Corleone family and the government, keeps driving the story forward.

These Winegardner novels derive their style from a potboiler literary fashion popular in the late 1950s. If they were translated into the cuisine of the era, they would be something rich and heart-clogging - like lobster thermidor.

Nobody eats lobster thermidor anymore. But it's fun to go back and enjoy it again. Or even for the first time. Unlike most of the mobsters here, it probably won't kill you.

From The Plain Dealer